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In a year where the news has been dominated by the ramifications of the recession for future giving, we are happy to report that the next generation of philanthropists are in good health. This month, Edinburgh was the location for the national launch of the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) in Scotland. Following a successful pilot in schools across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire last academic year, 15 schools in the North East of Scotland plus 10 schools in Edinburgh will participate in the programme during 2009/2010. The programme will extend to Glasgow in 2010/2011 and will hopefully become available to the majority of Scottish Secondary schools within the next 5-7 years.

YPI, was founded by Julie Toskan-Casale (who is also the founder of M.A.C. Cosmetics) in 2001, and is now in almost 300 schools in North America and the UK. Pertinently, the schools programme was launched in Edinburgh by Garreth Wood, who at 31 is himself a young philanthropist. Garreth, the son of Aberdeen-based businessman Sir Ian Wood - whose family's foundation, the Wood Family Trust, collaborated with the Institute to bring YPI to Scotland - typifies donors of his generation, in that he is willing to volunteer not just money but also his time and talent to ensure that his philanthropic projects are a success.

As a result of the Wood Family Trust's three year investment into YPI, over 9000 pupils in 50 secondary schools across Scotland will become actively involved with their local communities. A uniquely empowering initiative, YPI is driven by the students and the causes that they care about. In that sense, it mirrors Garreth's own enduring motives for his giving.

During YPI's launch at James Gillespie High School, Garreth spoke of his recovery from a life-threatening case of meningitis at the age of 16, and of how his ensuing gratefulness to his doctors had shaped his philanthropy. It was a deeply personal account, and one that it was important for the pupils to hear at the outset of their participation in YPI. As they go into their local communities, find charities whose work they endorse, and then prepare presentations which will hopefully win those charities a cheque for £3,000, it is their passion as advocates, as much as the skills that YPI will teach them, which can win them the favour of the presentations' judges.

Crucially, though, YPI offers its participants something more than the promise of a cheque for £3,000 for the charity of their choice. As Garreth himself pointed out in an interview with BBC News Scotland, "Philanthropy isn't just about giving money; it's about intelligent and strategic giving, being advocates, realising people's passions and broadening their understanding of social community issues." We second that sentiment; and we hope that YPI's participants in Scotland will this year become citizens who can make a positive difference to the societies around them, both during their time at school and beyond.

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